Ground effect machine with curtain forming injector means



A ril 28, I96 JEA -HEN I BERTIN 3 GROUND EFFECT MACHINE WITH CURTAIN FORMING INJECTOR MEANS Filed April 11, 1961 Y United States Patent Office 3,130,804 Patented Apr. 28, 1964 3,130,804 GROUND EFFECT MAQHENE WHTH CURTAIN FORMENG ENS'ECTGR MEANS Jean-Henri Bertin, Neuiliy-sur -Seine, France, assignor to Societe Bertin et Cie, Paris, France, a company of France Filed Apr. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 102,315 Claims priority, application France Apr. 14, 1960 4- Ciairns. (Cl. 1807) The present invention relates to the so-called Ground- Eifect Craf or vehicles capable of hovering and traveling at a slight distance above a land or sea surface by means of a peripheral fluid screen or curtain discharged on the underside of the vehicle and effectively enclosing a space or air cushion between it and the surface over which the vehicle travels.

The main object of the present invention is to provide improvements to such a vehicle so as to obtain better performances, these improvements being more specifically related to the fluid curtain or screen.

In accordance with the basic feature of the present invention, the formation of this fluid curtain or screen requires an injector operated by means of a motive jet of pressure gas which entrains ambient air in a generally downward direction.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an injector which is particularly suitable for the intended purpose in that it induces a relatively large flow of air compared with the flow of motive gas. The injector is of annular shape and is in contact with air on both its inner and outer sides.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description given with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic vertical section of a Vehicle designed in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are fragmentary vertical sections showing two alternative modifications.

The vehicle shown in FIG. 1 has a horizontally extending casing 1 which is recessed at 2 on its underside 2a facing the ground 4 and surrounded by an annular slot-like nozzle 3 inclined at an angle a to the vertical towards the interior of the recess. This nozzle 3 communicates with the inside of the casing 1 which constitutes a supply manifold 15 for the nozzle.

The manifold 15 is itself supplied with pressure fluid for the nozzle 3 by means of a multiple injector device which is of the type described in my Patent No. 2,922,277 and which comprises a cascade of elemental injectors each comprising a downwardly facing annular slot-like nozzle 8 fed with pressure gas from respective manifolds 7, 7a, 7b to form a series of annular motive jets which are in contact with ambient air on both the inner and outer sides thereof and which consequently induce this air in a downwardly direction into the manifold 15.

The manifolds 7, 7a, 7b of the nozzles 8 are supplied with the exhaust gas of a gas generator for example a gasturbine unit having its air intake at 6. Thus the effect of the injector device is to dilute the hot gases issuing from 5 with a large volume of fresh air induced by the nozzles 8, to reduce the velocity of these gases through the entrainment of this air and to discharge into the manifold 15 a mass of fluid of increased momentum available for the nozzle 3. In other words, the injector device operates as a jet augmenter interposed between the gasturbine unit 5 and the curtain-forming nozzle 3.

The nozzle 3 is part of another injector system in that it cooperates with an annular diffuser 10 formed of two spaced streamlined rings 10a and 10b positioned adjacent to and on both sides of the annular slot 3, the ring 10a is disposed on the inside or inwardly of nozzle 3 while the ring 10b is on the outside or outwardly of the nozzle 3. The two rings define an inlet zone on the diffuser in communication with the atmosphere and for receiving gaseous fluid under pressure discharged from the nozzle 3 and jointly define a divergent discharge zone discharging downwardly toward the surface over which the vehicle is traveling. The nozzle-diffuser assembly 3-10 constitutes an annular injector which is supplied with pressure fluid from manifold 15 to form an annular motive jet issuing from 3 and downwardly inducing air through the annular diffuser 10 is slightly inwardly inclined direction. The thus induced air is provided in part from the surrounding medium (arrow f and in part from the recess 2; however, the fluid filling the recess is constantly renewed by a fraction of the discharge flow of the injector 310.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the annular slot 3 is supplemented by a further similar slot or slot-like nozzle 11 or 11a which extends close to but radially spaced from the primary slot-like nozzle 3 (on the inward side thereof as in 11 on FIG. 2 or on the outward side thereof as at 11a on FIG. 3).

The secondary slot or nozzle 11 or 11a is connected to the manifold 15 through a number of hollow supporting arms 12 or 12a which are circumferentially spaced from each other to allow passage of air therebetween as shown by the arrow f towards the interval between the slot 3 and the slot 11 and 11a, both slots discharging concurrently into the diffuser 10.

The modification of FIG. 2 wherein the secondary slot or nozzle 11 is inwardly spaced from the primary slot 3 is preferred to the inverse arrangement of the secondary slot 11a in FIG. 3. The reason is that, in the embodiment of FIGS. 2, the slot or nozzle 11 induces an increased amount of air sucked from the under-space 2, that is air at a pressure in excess of atmospheric pressure due to the weight of the vehicle, whereas the slot or nozzle 11a induces more ambient air at atmospheric pressure.

What is claimed is:

1. In a ground effect vehicle having an underside to extend above and substantially parallel to a surface over which said vehicle is to travel and hover and to define in conjunction with said surface a cushion-like air space, means for forming a gaseous fluid curtain effectively surrounding an enclosing said air space comprising means defining an annular slot-like nozzle disposed along the periphery of said underside and for discharging gaseous fluid under pressure in a direction generally downwardly toward said surface, means to supply gaseous fluid under pressure to said slot-like nozzle, an annular diffuser having an inlet zone for receiving the gaseous fluid discharged under pressure from said slot-like nozzle and a divergent discharge zone for discharging said gaseous fluid in a downward direction toward said surface, said diffuser comprising two downwardly extending ring members disposed radially spaced and jointly defining said inlet zone for communication with the atmosphere and in position for receiving the gaseous fluid discharged from said slotlike nozzle, said ring members comprising a first ring disposed circumferentially of said means defining said slotlike nozzle and spaced outwardly therefrom and another ring spaced inwardly of said means defining said slotlike nozzle thereby to provide said inlet zone with communication to the atmosphere, whereby in operation atmospheric air is induced into said diffuser inlet zone by the gaseous fluid discharged from said slot-like nozzle and flowing out of said divergent zone of said diffuser.

2. In a ground effect vehicle having a gas generator and and an underside to extend above and substantially parallel to a surface over which said vehicle is to travel and hover and to define in conjunction with said surface a cushion-like air space, means for forming a gaseous fluid curtain effectively surrounding and enclosing said air space comprising means defining an annular slotlike nozzle disposed along the periphery of said underside and for discharging gaseous fluid under pressure in a direction generally downwardly toward said surface, means to supply gaseous fluid under pressure at least in part from said gas generator to said slot-like nozzle, an annular diffuser having an inlet zone for receiving the gaseous fluid discharged under pressure from said slot-like nozzle and a divergent discharge zone for discharging said gaseous fluid in a downward direction toward said surface, said diffuser comprising two downwardly extending ring members disposed radially spaced and jointly defining said inlet zone for communication with the atmosphere and in position for receiving the gaseous fluid discharged from said slot-like nozzle, said ring members comprising a first ring disposed circumferentially of said means defining said slot-like nozzle and spaced outwardly therefrom and another ring spaced inwardly of said means defining said slot-like nozzle thereby to provide said inlet zone with communication to the atmosphere, whereby in operation atmospheric air is induced into said diffuser inlet zone by the gaseous fluid discharged from said nozzle and flowing out of said divergent zone of said diffuser and said rings being inclined from the vertical to discharge downwardly and in a direction toward the center of said air space.

3. In a ground effect vehicle having a gas generator and an underside to extend above and substantially parallel to a surface over which said vehicle is to travel and hover and to define in conjunction with said surface a cushion-like air space, means for forming a gaseous fluid curtain effectively surrounding and enclosing said air space comprising means defining an annular slot-like nozzle disposed along the periphery of said underside and for discharging gaseous fluid under pressure in a direction generally downwardly toward said surface, means to supply gaseous fluid under pressure at least in part from said gas generator to said slot-like nozzle, an annular diffuser having an inlet zone for receiving the gaseous fluid discharged under pressure from said slot-like nozzle and a divergent discharge zone for discharging said gaseous fluid in a downward direction toward said surface, said diffuser comprising two downwardly extending ring members disposed radially spaced and jointly defining said inlet zone for communication with the atmosphere and in position for receiving the gaseous fluid discharged from said slot-like nozzle, said ring members comprising a first ring disposed circumferentially of said means defining said slot-like nozzle and spaced outwardly therefrom and another ring spaced inwardly of said means defining said slot-like nozzle thereby to provide said inlet zone with communication to the atmosphere, and means defining a second annular slot-like nozzle in communication with said means to supply gaseous fluid under pressure and disposed circumferentially and outwardly of the first mentioned nozzle and disposed to discharge into said inlet zone of said diffuser and spaced inwardly from said first ring whereby in operation atmospheric air is induced into said diffuser inlet zone by the gaseous fluid discharged from said nozzles and flowing out of said divergent zone of said diffuser.

4. In a ground effect vehicle having a gas generator and an underside to extend above and substantially parallel to a surface over which said vehicle is to travel and hover and to define in conjunction with said surface a cushion-like air space, means for forming a gaseous fluid curtain effectively surrounding and enclosing said air space comprising means defining an annular slot-like nozzle disposed along the periphery of said underside and for discharging gaseous fluid under pressure in a direction generally downwardly toward said surface, means to supply gaseous fluid under pressure at least in part from said gas generator to said slot-like nozzle, an annular diffuser having an inlet zone for receiving the gaseous fluid discharged under pressure from said slot-like nozzle and a divergent discharge zone for discharging said gaseous fluid in a downward direction toward said surface, said diffuser comprising two downwardly extending ring members disposed radially spaced and jointly defining said inlet zone for communication with the atmosphere and in position for receiving the gaseous fluid discharged from said slot-like nozzle, said ring members comprising a first ring disposed circumferentally of said means defining said slot-like nozzle and spaced outwardly therefrom and another ring spaced inwardly of said means defining said slot-like nozzle thereby to provide said inlet zone with communication to the atmosphere, and means defining a second annular slot-like nozzle in communication with said means to supply gaseous fluid under pressure and disposed inwardly of the first mentioned nozzle and disposed to discharge into said inlet zone of said diffuser and spaced between said first mentioned nozzle and said second ring, whereby in operation atmospheric air is induced into said diffuser inlet zone by the gaseous fluid discharged from said nozzles and flowing out of said divergent zone of said diffuser.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,922,277 Bertin Jan. 26, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 219,133 Australia Nov. 24, 1958 

1. IN A GROUND EFFECT VEHICLE HAVING AN UNDERSIDE TO EXTEND ABOVE AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO A SURFACE OVER WHICH SAID VEHICLE IS TO TRAVEL AND HOVER AND TO DEFINE IN CONJUNCTION WITH SAID SURFACE A CUSHION-LIKE AIR SPACE, MEANS FOR FORMING A GASEOUS FLUID CURTAIN EFFECTIVELY SURROUNDING AN ENCLOSING SAID AIR SPACE COMPRISING MEANS DEFINING AN ANNULAR SLOT-LIKE NOZZLE DISPOSED ALONG THE PERIPHERY OF SAID UNDERSIDE AND FOR DISCHARGING GASEOUS FLUID UNDER PRESSURE IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY DOWNWARDLY TOWARD SAID SURFACE, MEANS TO SUPPLY GASEOUS FLUID UNDER PRESSURE TO SAID SLOT-LIKE NOZZLE, AN ANNULAR DIFFUSER HAVING AN INLET ZONE FOR RECEIVING THE GASEOUS FLUID DISCHARGED UNDER PRESSURE FROM SAID SLOT-LIKE NOZZLE AND A DIVERGENT DISCHARGE ZONE FOR DISCHARGING SAID GASEOUS FLUID IN A DOWNWARD DIRECTION TOWARD SAID SURFACE, SAID DIFFUSER COMPRISING TWO DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING RING MEMBERS DISPOSED RADIALLY SPACED AND JOINTLY DEFINING SAID INLET ZONE FOR COMMUNICATION WITH THE ATMOSPHERE AND IN POSITION FOR RECEIVING THE GASEOUS FLUID DISCHARGED FROM SAID SLOTLIKE NOZZLE, SAID RING MEMBERS COMPRISING A FIRST RING DISPOSED CIRCUMFERENTIALLY OF SAID MEANS DEFINING SAID SLOTLIKE NOZZLE AND SPACED OUTWARDLY THEREFROM AND ANOTHER RING SPACED INWARDLY OF SAID MEANS DEFINING SAID SLOTLIKE NOZZLE THEREBY TO PROVIDE SAID INLET ZONE WITH COMMUNICATION TO THE ATMOSPHERE, WHEREBY IN OPERATION ATMOSPHERIC AIR IS INDUCED INTO SAID DIFFUSER INLET ZONE BY THE GASEOUS FLUID DISCHARGED FROM SAID SLOT-LIKE NOZZLE AND FLOWING OUT OF SAID DIVERGENT ZONE OF SAID DIFFUSER. 